Lenskart

Lenskart is an Indian multinational optical prescription eyewear retail chain, based in Gurugram.[6] As of March 2023, Lenskart has more than 2,000 retail stores, three-fourths of which are in India.[3] Its manufacturing facility in New Delhi manufactures 3 lakh glasses a month.[7][8][9] Lenskart is building an automated factory in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, with an annual production capacity of 5 crore glasses.[2]

Lenskart
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2010 (2010)
Founders
HeadquartersLenskart HQ,
Gurugram, Haryana
,
India
28.4596731°N 77.0922004°E / 28.4596731; 77.0922004
Number of locations
2,000+ retail stores (2022)
Area served
Key people
Peyush Bansal (Chairman; MD & CEO)
RevenueIncrease ₹1,503 crore (US$190 million) (FY 2022)[4]
Decrease ₹−102 crore (US$−13 million) (FY 2022)[4]
Number of employees
5,000+ (2020)
Subsidiaries
  • Owndays
  • Neso Brands[5]
Websitelenskart.com

History

Peyush Bansal, a former Microsoft employee, founded Lenskart.com in 2010 along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi.[10] In 2011, IDG Ventures India directed the company to also sell wristwatches, bags and jewellery online to replicate Titan Company's business.[11][12] In 2011, the company launched Watchkart.com and Bagskart.com, and the following year, it started Jewelskart.com.[13] By the end of 2014, only Lenskart.com remained operative as the company shut down its other three websites to focus on the eyewear segment.[14]

Co-founder and CEO of Lenskart, Peyush Bansal

Lenskart launched the eyewear brand John Jacobs in 2017.[15][16] In October 2017, Lenskart signed up its first brand ambassador Katrina Kaif.[17][18] In 2018, the company became profitable, EBITDA positive.[7] In March 2019, the company hired Bhuvan Bam as its first male brand ambassador.[19]

Acquisition of Owndays

In June 2022, Lenskart announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Japanese eyewear brand Owndays in a cash-and-stock deal which valued Owndays at around US$400 million.[20]

Funding

In 2011, IDG Ventures India invested $4 million in the company. In January 2015, the company raised ₹135 crore from TPG Growth, TR Capital and IDG Ventures India.[21] In 2016, International Finance Corporation, Adveq Management, TPG Growth and IDG Ventures India invested a total of $60 million in Lenskart. The company also saw investments from Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan.[22]

In March 2018, Wipro’s Chairman Azim Premji invested ₹4 crore in the group, taking the valuation of the company to ₹3,000 crore.[23][22] The company reached a valuation of $1 billion in December 2019 after SoftBank invested around $275 million.[24][25][8][26] In March 2023, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invested $500 million in Lenskart at a valuation of $4.5 billion.[3]


References
  1. "Lenskart to launch 500 stores in 2020 and increase its focus on AI and digital marketing, says Co-founder, Amit Chaudhary". Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. "Lenskart may shift SE Asia manufacturing to India plant". mint. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. Singh, Manish (15 March 2023). "ADIA invests $500 million in Lenskart". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. "Lenskart scale surpasses Rs 1,500 Cr in FY22, slips into losses". Entrackr. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  5. "Lenskart-backed Neso Brands raises $100 million, appoints Bjorn Bergstrom CEO". Financial Express. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  6. "Lenskart plans to hire over 2,000 employees in India by next year". mint. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  7. Bali, Shinmin (4 November 2018). "Expansion Plan: Lenskart eyes 50% market share". The Financial Express. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  8. "Lenskart raises another $25 million in series I round; announces opening of 1,000th store in the country". Economic Times. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. Sikdar, Shubhomoy (4 March 2019). "Lenskart sees more scope of growth in non-metros: CEO Peyush Bansal". Business Standard India. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  10. Poduwal, Sunanda (6 November 2011). "Peyush Bansal, founder of Lenskart in India, selling eyewear talks about his business journey". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  11. "Valyoo Technologies raises $4M from IDG Ventures India". Reuters. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  12. "Adjust focus: How Peyush Bansal built Lenskart into a profitable unicorn". Forbes India. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  13. "After Lenskart, Watchkart & Bagskart, Valyoo Technologies' Jewelskart.com Goes Live". TechCircle. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. "Lenskart's Peyush Bansal on new funding, why he shut down three other e-com sites & more". VCCircle. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  15. PTI (13 January 2019). "John Jacobs to clock ₹500 cr revenue by March 2021". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  16. PTI (4 February 2018). "Lenskart invests $4 million to expand John Jacobs brand stores". Livemint. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  17. "Lenskart ropes in Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador". Moneycontrol. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  18. "Katrina Kaif is Lenskart's first-ever ambassador". The Economic Times. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  19. "Lenskart announces Bhuvan Bam as its new brand ambassador". Economic Times Brand Equity. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  20. Singh, Manish (30 June 2022). "Lenskart acquires majority stake in eyewear brand Owndays in $400 million deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  21. "Updated: Lenskart Is Raising INR 135 Cr. From TPG, TR Capital & IDG In Series C". Inc42. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  22. Sarkar, Ranju (23 May 2016). "How Lenskart is defying the start-up trend". Rediff. Business Standard. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  23. Gooptu, Biswarup; Srinivasan, Supraja (2 March 2018). "Lenskart valuation touches Rs 3,000 Cr after a secondary transaction - ETtech". Economic Times Tech. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  24. "SoftBank Vision Fund invests $275M in India's Lenskart". TechCrunch.
  25. "Lenskart to become the next unicorn! Softbank to invest $350m at $1.3bn valuation". Business Today. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  26. Sharma, Samidha; Gooptu, Biswarup (27 May 2019). "Lenskart set to turn unicorn with likely $350M SoftBank funding - ETtech". Economic Times ETtech.com. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
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